Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Little Words Of Encouragement Go a Long Way

I love giving, and I often slip smile cards here and there, and I'm not usually on the receiving end, and even though this kind act was so little, it meant a lot to me.

I was on Facebook yesterday and one of my "friends" popped up on chat, saying that they love how they can always see God's love shining through me and I am beautiful inside and out.

I was speechless.

This little word of encouragement just made my day. It made me realize that I need to encourage others more, and I encourage YOU to do the same :)

His First Word Was, "Smile!"

So right now I'm in Argentina and I gave away a couple of Smile cards. Some people didn't know what 'smile' meant because they mostly speak Spanish here. 

Doing Good In The Garden

My mother in law was telling me about her neighbour. Doris is 79 years old and lives by herself since her husband passed away last year. 

A Kindness Connection in New Zealand

After my story "How I Like to Use My Smile Cards" was featured, I got a message from a lady in New Zealand! The only person ever to get in contact with me from New Zealand in relation to HelpOthers.org and the only person I have heard of using Smile Cards in New Zealand except for my sisters and I :) She has been part of helpothers.org for many years but never has come across anyone in New Zealand either! Thank you HelpOthers for featuring my story because she probably wouldn't have ever come across me and I come across her if it wasn't for that.. I rung her and she sounded sooo excited to hear from me and she said I made her day! Well Grace, you made mine too!! Wow! What an amazing conversation we had!! It was truly lovely talking to someone who does HelpOthers too in New Zealand! I'm going to send her ... Read Full Story >>

Celebrate Pay It Forward Day, April 26th

Pay It Forward Day is coming up on Thursday April 26th and we invite you to celebrate with us by doing an act of kindness!   Below are some kindness ideas, based on some of our favorite real-life HelpOthers' pay-it-forward stories.  And we invite you to share how you celebrated by leaving a comment on this story! 1.  The tried and tested - pay for the coffee for the person in the line behind you.   Andrew was a bit anxious when he tried to do this for the first time and wasn’t sure it would work - a week later, the coffee shop tags him with a free cup of coffee for being cheerful and friendly!  [more]   2.  Anonymously pay for someone’s meal at a restaurant.   A grandmother is sharing pancakes with her family when she decides to pay for the meal of a man eating alone, so she has the waitress deliver him ... Read Full Story >>

Stamps With A Smile!

Park and Smile

I was in town the other day, and paid for more parking than I needed.  When I was done, I took my ticket and put it back by the machine with a Smile Card for someone to find!

I hope it makes them smile :)

Kind Strangers in Her Story

I am in the habit of giving money to every beggar/homeless person I pass. My friends say it is not good to encourage begging and that all beggars have some measure of money to survive. It annoys them that I never listen :-). One day, my friend and I were walking to the bus stop when I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few cents. That day, I gave her 2 Euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I looked up to see that lady standing in front of me. She handed me a piece of paper covered in cling-film, to make it waterproof. It said she and her family had to leave their country because of floods, and she was struggling to support them. She had got a bit of money, but she needed 5 ... Read Full Story >>

Helping My Brother Not To Stumble

I told my brother, who has been struggling with illness that I would support him as long as he helps himself, and ever since, things have been looking up for the better. I must have awoken something in him I guess because since that day, he has really been taking care of himself: eating right, maintaining personal hygiene and having a positive outlook for himself. (I think a positive outlook on life helps to when working through all obstacles.) While my parents go to work, I stay and take care of my brother.  I’m already used to it now since my parents and I have been taking care of him for 5 years since he was diagnosed. I want to help him as much as I can so that our parents can take it easy. They rely on me to help even though I’m the little sister (I feel so honoured). This ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile for a Client

One of my clients lost her husband and sister in the same week. She has been very sad.

I called her the other day on some work related things and asked how she was doing. She sounded so sad. She told me that some days are really hard for her. She is 72 years old.

I asked her if there was anything she needed help with, and to please let me know. I asked her if maybe one day we could go out for tea. She was happy about that and thanked me. The next day I sent her a bouquet of flowers and I will definitely take her for tea one one day soon.

I hope it made her smile to receive the flowers.

The Feeling of Giving

Giving lunch to the homeless made me feel warm inside. I love giving!!!

A Cup of Tea With Lasting Power

One day, on the way to a class I stopped by a doughnut outlet to eat a doughnut to cheer me up. There was an old lady there who was asking the cashier for a tea but she only had a large bill and the cashier told her he could not make change for a bill that size. So, making use of this fine opportunity I bought the tea for her. And she was really, really grateful and she said she was so happy meet someone with such kindness. 

It was not just her that was happy.  This act made me get through many obstacles afterwords. Every time something bad happened to me I would think about this act and I felt much better. After this I did not stop, just kept on doing more and more. 

It was just a cup of tea, but it meant a lot to her and to me.

An Surprise Gift

Last week I went to a different grocery store than usual, just to check it out.  The person in front of me at the checkout was pregnant and purchasing a couple of containers of milk.  No big deal, she would be done quickly and I could be on my way.  Her method of payment was a WIC card and it kept telling her that it wasn't working.  A manager came over and told her to come to a different register, maybe this one was the problem.  After I checked out, I noticed she was still there, trying to get her card to work.  It was obvious that the young woman was getting anxious about the purchase so I offered to pay for her purchase.  She was shocked that I had even offered and very humbly accepted.  She thanked me and I went on my way with a smile from her. Everyone needs ... Read Full Story >>

Rupees Or Bananas

Helping On The Way To A Job Interview

I had a job interview this morning at 10.30 in a place which was quite far from my house.    I had asked my brother to drop me at the bus stop. But, just my bad luck, he was running late and it was already 9.45 before I reached the bus stop. Anyway, I caught my first bus and had to wait at another stop for the second one.    Then, in front of my eyes, a little girl (who may have been a beggar) was hit by a car! The car drove off without stopping. The girl was badly hurt in her hands and legs. She was bleeding heavily, and was screaming in pain. After a few seconds she fainted.   People standing nearby didn't seem to know what to do, not even the traffic policeman who was watching it all!   I ran over and called for an auto. A beggar, who seemed to be the ... Read Full Story >>

A Little Effort To Help Make Someone Happy

During this last week in my city we had the Calgary Stampede.  It's a big event in our city with a lot of excitment for everyone, kids expecially.  There are rides and games that children can go on and win things. 

I decided on Friday that I was going to take my younger cousin so he could go on the rides.  As we were walking up to a big Euro slide ride we saw a little boy who was waiting to go up too.  The ride operated stopped him and said he was too small to go on alone. He looked like he was about to cry until I said to his mother that if she didn't mind I would take him on the ride with me and my cousin.  This seemed to make him happy and he really seemed to enjoy the short ride. 

It is a small thing to do but I'm glad that just a little bit of effort on my part made someone happy.  It made me happy in the process too. 

A Small Gesture on a Hot Day

I work in a school.  Yesterday we had a whole bunch of textbooks delivered.

When the delivery man arrived, he asked for a different way to bring the boxes in as he said it would be dififcult with the stairs at the front door. 

There is a way through a different entrance which has ramps.  He used the ramp to bring in over 50 heavy boxes of textbooks.  He was sweaty, grumpy and complaining as he was stacking them up outside my office. 

A coworker said what a ray of "sunshine" he was. She was being sarcastic, of course.  I just said that it is really hot and he's probably just wants to go home by this time of the day when it's 90 degrees outside.

When he was finished stacking all the boxes, he came to me to sign for the packages.  I had kept a bottle of water ready for him and offered it to him. He was so thankful and left with a smile.

I hope this little gesture helped brighten up his attitude for his next delivery.

Secret Agents Spreading Smiles!

Today my champion-of-kindness daughter and I set out on one of our kindness missions.  A while back we did some random drops of envelopes filled with a dollar, Smile cards, and a note asking them to pay it forward. Today we tried a similar experiment and it was my little 6 year old’s idea.   We put a different spin on it this time. She wanted to watch people open them, as last time we loved the few we did see. So this time when we left an envelope, we watched from somewhere nearby. We made sure to only leave them when we couldn’t be caught.   The first one someone grabbed and walked off. We only followed them for a bit and then thought it best to move on to our next “victim”. The second one we sat across from and watched. It was a family who found it. The skeptical husband thought for ... Read Full Story >>

Tara Walks

Kindness Adventures of "Boss Lady"

[Posting on behalf of a friend who I met at a recent dinner and was inspired by the intention behind Smile Cards.] Chapter One: It was Christmas Eve for most people – for me, and my longest-standing friend Lanie, it was just another Saturday night. We were going to meet for a waterside dinner on the Northern shore of Long Island before I headed onto I-95 on my way back to Providence. I arrived about 45 minutes early and on impulse popped into the Nail Salon a few doors up from the restaurant. The owner approached me asking what services I wanted. “Manicure” I answered. “Manicure Pedicure” she chirped. “No, just manicure today – I only have 45 minutes.” "Manicure Pedicure," she re-chirped. "Manicure Pedicure 45 minutes!" She walked me to the back of the salon, pointed to a chair, turned to her staff and without a seconds pause, she pulled up a chair ... Read Full Story >>